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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24041620">Promise me</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/WeeTree/pseuds/WeeTree'>WeeTree</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/M</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-05-06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 16:08:09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,396</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24041620</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/WeeTree/pseuds/WeeTree</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Hermione has to go, but before she does she needs to know how Draco truly feels about her.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Hermione Granger/Draco Malfoy</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>46</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Promise me</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This is my first posting so I am more than welcome to any suggestions or feedback you guys can provide to help me improve. </p><p>This short story is inspired by the song 'Promise me - Beverley Craven' so please listen to it while you read the story.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Draco lit up a cigarette with his wand, inhaling deeply and blowing out a plume of smoke that engulfed him like a cloud. Hermione watched him with apprehension and grief swirling inside her, she guessed that this was probably his tenth cigarette since they had gotten out of bed.  She sighed and looked away from Draco to pour herself another glass of wine. She also guessed that this was probably her fourth. </p><p>Hermione brought the glass to her lips and drank deeply. She glanced at the large ornate grandfather clock and saw that it was four o’clock in the morning. She could see faint streaks of orange permeating through the darkness from the window. </p><p>She watched Draco intently as he tore his eyes from the roaring fire and moved to lay beside her on the sofa, resting his head on her thigh and continuing to pull smoke into his lungs. Hermione watched his face for a time, the worry she felt nearly choking her. She could see that his eyes were glazed and unfocused and a slight frown was marring his handsome features. Hermione's despair deepend as she could see that he wasn’t truly with her, his mind had gone somewhere else, perhaps he had already moved on from her. </p><p>With shaking hands Hermione set her wine glass down and reached for Draco, placing her hand lightly on his cheek, hoping that he wouldn’t notice the slight tremors that were coursing through her muscles.  She wanted to feel him one last time before she left, while she was sure he was still hers to miss. Draco pressed his face into her palm and sighed. She watched as he seemingly returned to his body, his eyes fixing onto his cigarette that was still hanging from between his fingers. Hermione lightly stroked his cheek trying to temper down her misery.</p><p>“Please don’t leave.” Draco whispered suddenly.</p><p>“I have to go.” Hermione whispered back her voice cracking slightly on the last word. </p><p>“Do you really have to be gone for the entire two months?” Draco asked, his voice laced with hope. </p><p>“Yes, it would jeopardise everything if I left at any point before the mission was complete.” Hermione replied in a quiet voice. </p><p>Draco sighed and placed his free hand over his eyes and brought the cigarette back to his lips. Hermione was waiting for him to say something, anything else. She knew that this was the closest that they had come to discussing her departure since she had told him she would have to leave five days ago. When Draco didn’t respond, Hermione leant forward, picking up her wine glass and took another swig.<br/>
Her thoughts were hectic, she truly didn’t want to leave but she also knew that she was required to go. The mission required her expertise on Egytpain ancient runes and the secrecy surrounding the task demanded that she be without contact to anyone not already involved for the two months she was scheduled to be in Egypt. Hermione was mostly anxious about Draco, she wanted to fall to her knees and beg him to wait for her, to promise her that he would still want her when she returned. But Hermione was an eternal realist, she knew that his unwillingness to define their sixth month long ‘relationship’ was a conscious effort on his part and she understood. Truly she did. She appreciated the difficulty he would have in explaining to his Mother and friends that she was his girlfriend. She appreciated that even though times had changed and the wizarding world was moving in the right direction towards equality she was also aware that Draco’s social circles and families were not as progressive as so many others. Glancing at the clock again and seeing that she would have to leave within the next hour Hermione knew that it was now or never to discuss what was plaguing her mind. She took a deep breath and said,</p><p>“I understand that we haven’t fully decided what we are...what this is between us.” she gestured with her hands to the space between them on the sofa, belatedly realising that Draco still had his hand firmly over his eyes, “I also know that me leaving places an immovable hurdle between us. Therefore, I understand if you want to...” Hermione took a deep breath before continuing, “If you would like to move on and see other people while I am gone. I understand that it would be utterly selfish of me to ask you to wait for me.” When she finished a tear slid down her cheek.</p><p>In a flurry of activity, Draco removed his hand from his eyes and sat up sharply while simultaneously flinging his cigarette into the fireplace. His eyes flashed and became as hard as iron, almost piercing a hole into Hermione’s own whiskey brown orbs when he turned to stare at her. His entire face was laced with tension.</p><p>“Are you planning on moving on from me? Do I mean anything to you?” Draco demanded.</p><p>Hermione set her glass onto the coffee table with such force that a crack appeared on the crystal stem. She was suddenly livid that he would doubt her feelings for him when she was so sure of how she felt and believed her actions to demonstrate them. </p><p>She turned toward Draco and in a loud voice said, “Of course you mean something to me! Honestly, Draco, I wouldn’t be with you instead of Harry and Ron right now if I was planning on moving on and if you didn’t mean so much to me.” </p><p>Draco remained glaring at Hermione as he asked, “What makes you think that I won't wait for you?”</p><p>Hermione felt a sudden sadness engulf her, recognizing that this was it and she was going to have to voice her reasons for doubting his feelings for her, “I know that it is hard to be with me, I know that you don’t want to define us because it would force you to have a difficult conversation with your friends and Mother which could potentially alienate you from them.  I understand Draco, I really do. I am not angry at you for keeping this thing between us casual, but in the same vein I cannot demand that you wait for me and live in hope that we can truly be something when I return. I will miss you every day that I am away and I won’t be able to stop thinking about you, about us. I don’t want anyone else Draco. For me, I only want you. I know it isn’t the same for you, but that is how I feel.” </p><p>Draco features transformed from anger into pure shock at Hermione’s words and he said slowly, “Hermione I am utterly in love with you.” Draco took a deep breath and stated, “I couldn’t care less if my friends and Mother didn’t approve, which I also doubt by the way. The only reason that I haven’t asked you to be official is because I didn’t want to put additional pressure on you by having to feel like you were choosing between me and your friends. I know how much hassle they give you and I didn’t want to do anything that would increase it and potentially make you more upset. I have wanted to let the world know that you were mine from the moment you agreed to go to dinner with me six months ago.”</p><p>Hermione looked slightly bemused at Draco’s declaration and asked in a low trembling voice, “I don’t understand, you would wait for me while I’m away?”</p><p>Draco placed his hands on either side of Hermione’s face and pulled her forward until their foreheads were touching. </p><p>“I promise you that I’ll wait for you. I will always wait for you. I never want anyone but you, for the rest of my existence.”</p><p>Hermione stared into his eyes which were burning with passion, she needed to be sure, she felt hope battling against her other warring mixture of persistent negative emotions.</p><p>“Promise me you’ll wait for me” </p><p>“I promise.” he whispered. </p><p>Hermione captured his lips with her own and threw herself into his arms. When she was lying on top of him she pulled away slightly, her lips brushing against his as she whispered. </p><p>“I love you too, and I’ll be home soon”</p>
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